CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
I. I Background
Yakult was established in Japan in 1930. Their core product is Yakult Probiotics
fermented milk which was proved to help peoples health and wellness, as well asnice
complexion and a slim form. Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Yakult Honsha, Japan. Yakult has committed millions of ringgit to establish and operate their
one and only local factory in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan with their Head Office in
Glenmarie, Shah Alam.
A study tour has been conducted for Widyatamas University student to visit Yakult
factory to broaden up their knowledge about a manufacturing process, specifically in
agrobusiness sector by taking Yakult as an example.
The Yakult factory was built specially with visitors in mind. In the Yakult factory, a lot
of attention is paid to the two-way communication with the consumer. People who are
interested can get information in the factory, and moreover - this is unique - they can follow
the whole production process from a lobby on the first floor. The walls are made of glass,
which makes every step of the production process clearly visible. This shows the open
character and the clear structure of the company.
The factory maintains the highest quality standards throughout the process,
equivalent to the Yakult manufacturing plants in Japan. Strict standards apply to producing
Yakult, ensuring a drink yield that is close to 99% (this means that 99% of the raw
ingredients end up in the final product.) There are no by-products and little waste.

I.II Purpose
The purpose of having this study tour for our student are :

Broaden up their knowledge in agrobusiness sector

Broaden up their knowledge in general manufacturing process of fermented milk
The ability to have a general review from Yakults company

CHAPTER II
COMPANY PROFILE
II. I Company Review and History
Yakult is a high quality probiotics in the form of a cultured milk drink. Yakult contains
the probiotic bacteria "Lactobacillus casei Shirota" (popularly known as the "Shirota strain").
With over 30 billion live Shirota strain in each bottle, Yakult has among the highest
concentrations of probiotics compared to other probiotic products on the market (most
probiotic drinks and supplements claim to contain at most 1 to 10 billion live probiotic
bacteria per serving or per capsule). It was founded in 1930, based on Dr. Minoru Shirota
research in microbiology lab at the Medical Faculty of Kyoto University, Japan.
He succeed in culturing a strain of lactid acid bacteria, and discover its benefit for
human health. In 1935, he was able to manufacture and introduce Yakult for the first time to
the market and it became a trademark since 1938. By 1955, Takult Honsha Co., Ltd is
established in Tokyo and since then, it grows as one the biggest milk-fermented company in
the world.
Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. begin its operation on 2004, as part of Yakult Honsha
subsidiary company, which located Seremban, Negeri Sembilan with their Head Office in
Glenmarie, Shah Alam. Therefor, Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. is the ninth factory builded
from all of the Yakults factory spreaded all over the world. There are two product that is
marketed in Malaysia, which are Yakult Ace and Yakult Ace Light.
Yakult Ace, is an improved version of the standard Yakult cultured milk drink available
in other countries worldwide. Yakult Ace has a higher concentration of the probiotics
Lactobacillus casei Shirota and added nutrients: calcium, niacin and vitamin B16, B12 and
D. Yakult Ace Light cultured milk drink has the same high concentration of Shirota strain as
Yakult Ace, 30 billion in each bottle, but with 50 percent less sugar and a lighter, less sweet
taste. Just like Yakult Ace, Yakult Ace Light is free of fat, cholesterol, colourings,
preservatives, conditioners and stabilizers.
Currently, they are also entering two more sector, which are cosmetics and
pharmaceuticals product range. Yakult's cosmetics are created using biotechnology. Yakult's
pharmaceuticals bring significant contribution to the science of curative medicine.

II.II Corporation Type

Yakult Malaysia is adopting a type of corporation called Sendirian Berhad (Sdn.
Bhd.), meaning private limited, which is the equivalent with Indonesian incorporated entitiy
called Perseroan Terbatas (P.T.). This means that Yakult Malaysia, as part of subdsidiary of
Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd, is a type of company that offers limited liability, or legal protection
for its shareholders but that places certain restrictions on its ownership. These restrictions
are defined in the company's bylaws or regulations and are meant to prevent any hostile
takeover attempt.
The major ownership restrictions are:
1. shareholders cannot sell or transfer their shares without offering them first to other
shareholders for purchase,
2. shareholders cannot offer their shares to the general public over a stock exchange,
and
3. the number of shareholders cannot exceed a fixed figure (commonly 50).
Private Limited Company is the most common form of companies in Malaysia, due to
the following:

Separate Legal Entity : Unlike sole proprietorship, a private limited company is a

separate legal identity. It can acquire assets, go into debt, enter into contracts, sue or be
sued in its own name and has a perpetual succession until the directors and

shareholders decide to dissolve the company.

Limited Liability: The liability of the members/owners is limited to the amount that they
each have contributed as capital to the company. There is a separation between the
owners and its personal assets. If the company fails to meet its liabilities, the creditors

will not be able to go after the owners personal assets.

Credibility: A private limited company (Sdn Bhd) gives credibility to the business owners.
Usually entrepreneurs prefer to choose between setting up a private limited company

(Sdn Bhd) and a sole proprietorship. The impression of sole proprietorship is the
impermanence of such a set-up. Sole proprietorship can be closed down by merely filing a
form to the Registrar informing the cessation of business. Furthermore, death of the owner
will also cause the sole proprietorship to be terminated. Therefore, a private limited company
(Sdn Bhd), is the preferred structure by business associates

as opposed to sole

proprietorship, particularly so if you are conducting B2B business.

II.III Business Type

Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. owned a factory that we have visited altogether as part
of the Study Tour trip arrangged by University of Widyatama, therefor, this company is
engaged in manufacturing and distribution sector type of business. The main purpose of
having this factory established in Malaysia was to cover Yakult consumption throught out
Malaysias cities , as well as for export to neighbouring countries.
The Yakult, which produce in Malaysia came from high quality and carefully selected
ingredients and packaged in their modern state-of-the-art factory in Seremban, Negeri
Sembilan. Eventhough the probiotic bacteria is imported dirctly from Japan, yet the local
plant maintains the highest quality standards throughout the process, equivalent to the
Yakult manufacturing plants in Japan.
Below is the general flowcharts that shows Yakult manufacturing process :

From this point, they are also distributing their product to the peddler or vendor,
whose furthermore will deliver to all major supermarkets, hypermarkets and stores
throughout peninsular Malaysia. Besides retail outlets, Yakult is also delivered fresh directly
to consumers' homes via a network of "Yakult Ladies".

II.IV Owner
Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., is a private limited company, which means the owner is
consist several people or a group that own a certain amount of shareholders. Below are the
persons who sit as the board member for the principal company, Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd. :
Chairman and Representative Director Chief Executive Officer
Sumiya Hori

President and Representative Director Chief Operating Officer

Takashige Negishi

Director
Yoshihiro Kawabata
Chizuka Kai
Masahiro Negishi
Shigeyoshi Sakamoto

Director (Part-time)
Ryuji Yasuda (Outside Director)
Masayuki Fukuoka (Outside Director)
Christian Neu (Outside Director)
Bertrand Austruy (Outside Director)
Richard Hall (Outside Director)
Shyouji Ikegami
Masayuki Takemura
Toshihiro Araki
Yasuhisa Abe

. (continued below)

Senior Corporate Auditor

Katsumi Ohtsubo
Takeyoshi Tanaka

Corporate Auditor
Teruo Nakamura
Akihiko Okudaira (Outside Auditor)
Ryohei Sumiya (Outside Auditor)
Masahiko Ikeda (Outside Auditor)
Seijuro Tanigawa (Outside Auditor)

Advisor
Heisaku Horita
Toshiro Tsuboi
Kouhei Kitada
Tokuji Nakamura
Tomeji Tanigawa
Kaoru Yamaguchi
Tomoharu Tanaka

II.V Organization Structural Chart

Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. is a manufacturing plant, part of the production division,
in the whole complex-structure of organization for Yakult Global Division, under direct control
of Executive Officers Committee, as we can see on the chart below:

CHAPTER III
OBSERVATION RESULTS
Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. has more than 180 employees at the moment,
throughout Malaysia. Those all include production workers, sales consultants, costumer
service officers, administrative staff managers and human resource personel. The plant
workers are also using a regular single-shift office hours (08.00 AM 17.00 PM), only in
weekday, just like any other staff schedule.
The plant produces approximately around 380.000 bottles per day, using an autosynchronize machine, ordered directly from Yakult standards in Japan plant. This mean,
most of the plant workers are operators, quality assurance and packaging. All of these
product will be distributed to all Malaysian Peninsula.
The general process of Yakult, that we are able to observedat the plant, are stated
below:
1. Mixing of Raw Ingredients
Live Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain is cultured in a 'seed tank' in our laboratory.
Skim milk powder is mixed with sugar, glucose and filtered, sterilised water to make a
sweet milky solution.

2. Sterilisation
The sweet, milky solution is sterilised at a high temperature for a short time,
destroying any bacteria that may be present. The solution is then transferred to a
6,500-litre culture tank via a closed system of pipes and valves.

3. Culture Tank
The temperature of the tank is reduced to 37C and live Lactobacillus casei Shirota
strain is added. The solution is allowed to ferment for about one week until the
number of Lactobacillus casei bacteria reaches an ideal concentration.

4. Mixing and Storage Tank

The concentrate is transferred to a 12,000-litre mixing and storage tank. The tank is
chilled to around 2 C. Sterilised flavours, syrup solution, vitamins and calcium are
added to the concentrate. Prior to bottling, the concentrate is diluted with filtered,
sterile water.

5. Injection Blow Moulding Machine

The plastic bottles are produced on site. The bottles are made from polystyrene.

6. Bottling and Packaging

The bottles are wrapped with individual bottle labels. Then, they are filled with Yakult,
capped with a foil lid, sealed and transferred along the conveyor belt to the packaging
facility. Single bottles of Yakult are sorted into groups of five and shrink-wrapped in
polypropylene film. Ten "5-packs" are grouped together and wrapped again in
polyethylene film and then heat shrunk, forming a 'carton' of 50 Yakult bottles.

7. Refrigeration Room
Finished products are kept refrigerated before delivery to stores.

Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bdh. is also adopting a comprehensive quality assurance to

produce a high quality product. By collecting more than 150 random samples per production
run (per day), and conducting more than 200 test, a thorough inspection from the
composition to the packaging itself, are consistently implemented to ensure the products
meet the standard before it goes for distribution.
Quality assurance measures are in place to maintain standards for personnel and
factory hygiene, equipment cleaning, processing methods and parameters, and product
handling. Yakult's quality assurance utilizes a system called "Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points" (HACCP). The principles of HACCP are internationally recognised as an
excellent method for assuring stringently high standards.

CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION
Yakult was established in Japan in 1930. Founded by Dr. Minoru Shirota M.D, based
on his success discover of probiotic bacteria "Lactobacillus casei Shirota" (popularly known
as the "Shirota strain"), and its benefit for human health. Since 1955, Yakult has grown to
become a world leader in probiotics. Over 28 million people drink Yakult every day for good
health. We now operate in 32 countries, across five continents.
Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., which is a subsidiary of Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd., was
established in 2004, located in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Their two product that is
marketed in Malaysia, which are Yakult Ace and Yakult Ace Light. Currently, they are also
entering two more sector, which are cosmetics and pharmaceuticals product range.
Yakult Malaysia is adopting a type of corporation called Sendirian Berhad (Sdn.
Bhd.), meaning private limited, which is the equivalent with Indonesian incorporated entitiy
called Perseroan Terbatas (P.T.). This means that Yakult Malaysia is a type of company that
offers limited liability, or legal protection for its shareholders but that places certain
restrictions on its ownership.
Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. is engaged in manufacturing and distribution sector type
of business. The main purpose of having this factory established in Malaysia was to cover
Yakult consumption throught out Malaysias cities , as well as for export to neighbouring
countries.
The general process of Yakult : Mixing of Raw Ingredients Sterilisation Culture
Tank Mixing and Storage Tank Injection Blow Moulding Machine Bottling and
Packaging Refrigeration Room. Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bdh. is also adopting a
comprehensive quality assurance to produce a high quality product called "Hazard Analysis
and Critical Control Points" (HACCP).
The current owner of Yakult (Malaysia) is under the board director of Yakult Honsha
Co. Ltd, who is Sumiya Hori, as a Chairman and Representative Director Chief Executive
Officer. Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. is a manufacturing plant, part of the production division,
in the whole complex-structure of organization for Yakult Global Division, under direct control
of Executive Officers Committee.

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REFERENCE

http://www.yakult.com.my/
http://www.yakult.co.jp/english/company/officer.html
http://usahawan-yakult.blogspot.com/
http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakult
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporation_(business)
http://www.risscorporateservices.com/types-of-business-entities.html

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